COUNCILS are in discussion with Stormont officials on how to furlough staff.
Local authorities have been looking at how to "appropriately access" the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the finance department said.
It comes after Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council announced plans to lay off 73 staff due to funding pressures during the pandemic.
There are fears that more of the north's 11 councils are considering staff redundancies as a result of the health crisis.
[ READ MORE: Council to lay off 73 staff due to coronavirus funding pressuresOpens in new window ]
Union leaders from Nipsa, GMB and Unite have written a joint letter urging councils to "resist and refuse all requests to make any staff compulsorily redundant".
In a letter to Derry and Strabane, Causeway Coast and Glens, and Mid and East Antrim councils, they urged the authorities to provide assurances that workers "do not need to worry about the security of their employment".
Antrim and Newtownabbey council said it has faced an "unprecedented financial challenge" and there has been "no confirmation of any additional funding being provided to councils from government".
It also said it understood the UK-wide furlough scheme is not expected to be used by local authorities.
However, the Department of Finance said councils are able to access the scheme "where it can be demonstrated that a loss of income related to Covid-19 has directly affected the ability to pay staff".
"Councils are in discussion with the Department for Communities on how to appropriately access the scheme," a spokesman said.
"The department has issued guidance to NICS [NI Civil Service] departments on how public sector organisations can access the job retention scheme."
The UK-wide scheme aims to prevent redundancies by allowing employers to apply for a grant to cover most of the wages for staff who are 'furloughed' or placed on temporary leave.
Antrim and Newtownabbey council is facing questions over why it has not used its reserve funding to prevent job losses.
According to its latest published accounts, the council had 'usable reserves' of more than £12 million as of March 2019 – including more than £7m in a 'general fund'.
The council says its redundancy plans would make an annual saving of approximately £1.8m, or £150,000 a month.
SDLP councillor Ryan Wilson branded the plans a "terrible decision".
"The council could look at reviewing its reserve policy and accordingly adjusting it to facilitate that money being utilised to keep staff in employment," he said.
The council said its reserves are "insufficient to cover an event of the scale of the current situation".
A spokeswoman said it is required to hold a minimum of one-month expenditure (£5.5m) in reserves, while some of the funding pot has already been used for other areas.
Stormont's finance department was given an extra £50m as a result of the British government awarding £1.6bn to councils in England.
A finance spokesman said the executive is "currently examining how best to allocate funding".
Meanwhile, the infrastructure minister yesterday revealed that transport officials are considering furloughing some staff at Translink.
Nichola Mallon told a Stormont committee she has been asked by finance minister Conor Murphy to consider if furloughing would be applicable.
Ms Mallon said: "To take the step of furloughing public sector workers is a hugely significant step and is one I believe is cross-cutting and should be approached and discussed with serious consideration by the executive and in consultation with the trade unions."
